Let's get down to business

[restardom.livejournal.com]

Who: Lightning and Rise
Where: Goldenrod Hotel, Lightning's room
When: Saturday, April 2
Summary: An idol seeks out a soldier because bullies suck and she can't Galactic Punt them like Chie.
Rating: PG at most...?
Log:

[ There is a girl standing in the hallway, looking both determined and reluctant. And finally, heaving a sigh and murmuring something to herself, she rolls her shoulders back and gives the door in front of her a firm knock. ]

Hey, Light? Are you there?

Comments

[soggypastry]

You'll get used to it with some time.[Sen seems to pout as he steps away, sprawling over the bed as Lightning ties her hair into a ponytail so it's out of the way. Rise's main ability is her flexibility, so they'll work with that. But first comes something important.]

The second rule of combat is, whenever you make a fist, keep your thumb on the outside of your fingers instead of inside them. If you have it inside, the force of the punch will break your thumb. [A quick demonstration so Rise can see the difference, just to be sure.]

[restardom.livejournal.com]

[ if you were to ask Rise if she'd made the proper fist when she'd decked Teddie-- she couldn't tell you. But she obediently makes her fist with the thumb pressed to the outside. ]

Like this?

[soggypastry]

[And, with that so far behind them, Lightning wouldn't really care. What matters now is making sure she does it right from now on. So that's a nod.]

Exactly. It'll be instinct to keep your thumb inside at first, but you'll eventually start keeping it outside automatically. [Now Lightning shifts her stance, right foot forward and left foot back.]

When you move to punch something, you have to be careful not to put all your weight behind it. You'll lose your balance if you do that. [Hitting air to show what she means, and...yep. It's a small shift, but Lightning leans forward when there's more force to her punch.] If you're off-balance, it'll be too easy for your opponent to knock you over or pull you down.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

And balance is important. [ if she hadn't known that as an idol, getting knocked into dirt multiple times by big sis here certainly would have driven the point home. From the look on her face, she's remembering it even now. ]

[soggypastry]

[Nod.]

That's right. Balance, flexibility, and momentum. You can be the strongest brawler in the world, but that doesn't matter if you can't hit your target.

Now. [She shifts her stance to something more defensive, bringing her arms up in front of her face. Yes, Rise, she's being your training dummy. No hesitating!] Punch a few times, and put different amounts of force behind them. You have to feel the difference in order to know it.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

Put it like that and it sounds like dancing. [ Rise smiles ruefully, but settles back into a stance similar to Lightning's first one. In the process of making a fist, she ends up with the thumb inside, and sighs to herself before she corrects it. This is going to take awhile...

Her first punch is noticeably more careful than her second, and it's like Lightning said: she can definitely tell that her balance is off on Round 2. ]

[soggypastry]

You can think of it that way. [After that, she keeps silent. Rise notices the problem with her fist and corrects it just fine, so there's no need to remark on it.

And after Rise has finished with her punches for this round, Lightning nods. The idol had definitely noticed something, she's sure of it. If she's good at balancing, like Lightning knows her to be, she'd have noticed right away.]

See what I mean? It always comes back to balance. If you hit too lightly your opponent won't have the patience to wait it out. If you hit too hard, you're opening yourself up. You have to be able to balance the two or it doesn't work. [Spoken with a tone colored by experience. It took her a while to get it right, too.]

[restardom.livejournal.com]

Y-yeah... [ deliberately putting yourself off-balance is a perturbing feeling, really. Rise quickly shifts back to her normal position and sighs heavily. ] It's like what people always say about finding a 'happy medium', right?

[soggypastry]

That's right. When you find that medium, you'll be able to fight back to best of your ability. But the only way to find it is practice and repetition. You have to keep trying.

[Stance shifting ever so slightly, but she keeps her arms up.]

Again. Tell me when you've had enough.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

[ well, that's a first. Rise usually keeps trucking through rehearsals and any sort of practice until someone else calls an end to it, so this may take awhile. Or at least, until she's satisfied that she's got the proper balance going. ]

[soggypastry]

[However long it takes, Lightning's ready for it. Rise needs to learn this and it's not only for being able to defend herself. There's no telling when it'll come in handy.

Though, if she does see Rise slipping up, she will call at least a break. No use falling over from exhuastion, after all.]

[restardom.livejournal.com]

[ Rise will at least try to stay out of fights as much as possible. She finally takes an extra step back, giving her hand a little shake. ]

O-ouch.

[soggypastry]

[As soon as Rise steps back, Lightning lowers her arms and nods, not disguising or hiding the proud smile on her face.]

Good work for your first day.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

S-so my knuckles are supposed to burn?

[soggypastry]

[Slight nod.] Yeah. You're putting them through things you normally don't and they have to adjust to it. You should wear gloves or wrap your hands for training in the meantime.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

[ ... what did she get herself into? ]